I read with interest the posting below entitled 'Running vs Biking".
It's clear the young man is a soldier seeking to max out the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), a commendable, admirable goal, when so many just seek to pass.
I'm retired now. A knee injury and an overmotivated and destructive attempt to rehab ended my deployability days. Back in the day, I had to prep for entry APFT's for Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger. I did these wearing combat boots and fatigues, BTW. I also sought to set the example for my troops. I actually received awards for overmaxing the APFT. Once you meet the max score in all events, running, pushups and situps, you qualify to use an extended scale and can exceed the max score of 300.
I shipped my bike to all duty assigments possible and used it for admin errands, training site recons and exploring the countryside, beyond where the locals spoke english. I even used my bike to rehab from hernia surgery and was jumping a month later.
The bad news is. Biking is no substitute for running in the Army. I tried to sub jumping rope for running one dangerously icy winter. My cardio efficiency was superb, but the muscle groups differed enough that I only managed to pass the run instead of vanquish it. Same with biking. Though the muscle movements are similar, they are different enough. I now only bike or use a ski trainer. When I run while playing paintball, my legs now do this odd circular motion instead of the shuffle most runners do.
BTW-AVOID HIGH GEARS AND LOW RPMS. USE YOUR GEARS TO KEEP YOUR RPM'S HIGH. THIS SAVES YOUR KNEES IN THE LONG RUN AND HELPS YOU GO FURTHER, FASTER.
Running is a fact of life in the Army. You run in combat. You run off the DZ or LZ. You run ahead of your troops to have the mess hall hold chow when range fire runs late.
For the 2 mile, work on reducing your time over the 2 miles. Concentrate on this. If you want to work on distance, you may slow down AFTER the 2 miles. I don't recommend exceeding 5 miles unless you are a running fool, which you indicate you're not. In my 20 yrs AD, USAR and NG, I never encountered a school that ran more than 5 miles. Actually, there are few instances of distance running in warfare. I'm only aware of the Foreign Legion's jump into Katanga, when they landed a mile off tgt and had to run in. Most distance is covered under a rucksack at a sustained 6 mph+ walk.
Avoid running in boots or with weights, like a ruck or flak vest, unless there is an anticipated requirement. Even Matterhorns can cause tendonitis and lots of running under weight will wreck your knees. BTW, just being a big guy will do it too, even if you can move all that heavy muscle fast.
As for strength tng, do pyramids. Do 1 perfect pushup, 1 perfect situp, then progress up to 10 of each, then back down to 1 each. The finish by repeating, or by doing all you have left for. Then so some pullups, and proceed to other strength tng. Emphasize perfect form in training.
When you actually do the event, play with your grader and see what you can get away with. This can raise your score.
Ironically, before I retired I was on a running profile. I limped up to the CDR with a cane to receive a PT award.
I was using the bike test ILO of the run and doing it in half the time, but unfortunately, this isn't the Swiss Army-BIKEBORNE!
BTW, Why don't you put in for the MFT school?
It's clear the young man is a soldier seeking to max out the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), a commendable, admirable goal, when so many just seek to pass.
I'm retired now. A knee injury and an overmotivated and destructive attempt to rehab ended my deployability days. Back in the day, I had to prep for entry APFT's for Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger. I did these wearing combat boots and fatigues, BTW. I also sought to set the example for my troops. I actually received awards for overmaxing the APFT. Once you meet the max score in all events, running, pushups and situps, you qualify to use an extended scale and can exceed the max score of 300.
I shipped my bike to all duty assigments possible and used it for admin errands, training site recons and exploring the countryside, beyond where the locals spoke english. I even used my bike to rehab from hernia surgery and was jumping a month later.
The bad news is. Biking is no substitute for running in the Army. I tried to sub jumping rope for running one dangerously icy winter. My cardio efficiency was superb, but the muscle groups differed enough that I only managed to pass the run instead of vanquish it. Same with biking. Though the muscle movements are similar, they are different enough. I now only bike or use a ski trainer. When I run while playing paintball, my legs now do this odd circular motion instead of the shuffle most runners do.
BTW-AVOID HIGH GEARS AND LOW RPMS. USE YOUR GEARS TO KEEP YOUR RPM'S HIGH. THIS SAVES YOUR KNEES IN THE LONG RUN AND HELPS YOU GO FURTHER, FASTER.
Running is a fact of life in the Army. You run in combat. You run off the DZ or LZ. You run ahead of your troops to have the mess hall hold chow when range fire runs late.
For the 2 mile, work on reducing your time over the 2 miles. Concentrate on this. If you want to work on distance, you may slow down AFTER the 2 miles. I don't recommend exceeding 5 miles unless you are a running fool, which you indicate you're not. In my 20 yrs AD, USAR and NG, I never encountered a school that ran more than 5 miles. Actually, there are few instances of distance running in warfare. I'm only aware of the Foreign Legion's jump into Katanga, when they landed a mile off tgt and had to run in. Most distance is covered under a rucksack at a sustained 6 mph+ walk.
Avoid running in boots or with weights, like a ruck or flak vest, unless there is an anticipated requirement. Even Matterhorns can cause tendonitis and lots of running under weight will wreck your knees. BTW, just being a big guy will do it too, even if you can move all that heavy muscle fast.
As for strength tng, do pyramids. Do 1 perfect pushup, 1 perfect situp, then progress up to 10 of each, then back down to 1 each. The finish by repeating, or by doing all you have left for. Then so some pullups, and proceed to other strength tng. Emphasize perfect form in training.
When you actually do the event, play with your grader and see what you can get away with. This can raise your score.
Ironically, before I retired I was on a running profile. I limped up to the CDR with a cane to receive a PT award.
I was using the bike test ILO of the run and doing it in half the time, but unfortunately, this isn't the Swiss Army-BIKEBORNE!
BTW, Why don't you put in for the MFT school?
